1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to sporting equipment. More particularly, the present invention relates to a leg guard for a baseball or a softball catcher.
2. Description of Related Art
In baseball and softball, the catcher, positioned behind home plate with a view of the entire playing field, performs many vital functions during a game, from calling plays and protecting the plate to receiving the ball from the pitcher. As home plate crashes with other players and impacts from pitches in excess of 90 mph are common in baseball, the bodies of catchers are physically punished regularly during a game.
Due in part to the awkward crouching position catchers assume behind home plate, catchers commonly injure their knees. Further, the catcher's crouch entails exposing the inner legs to impacts from pitches, with the medial side of the knee often being struck by the ball. Also, a catcher's blocking motions for stopping wild, tipped, or dropped pitches requires that the catcher first drop rapidly onto their knees from the crouch, and just as rapidly either reassume the crouch or stand upright to throw out any potential base stealers. Collisions at home plate from opposing team players trying to score are common, with many slides resulting in impacts to the catcher's lower legs and knees.
Since the early days of baseball, catchers have been provided with equipment to protect their bodies from these various stresses. Typical catcher's gear includes a helmet with a face mask to protect the head and face, a chest pad to protect the torso, a thick glove to protect the hand, and leg guards to protect the legs and feet. As the knees are particularly vulnerable, various design for leg guards have been produced to allow the catcher maximum freedom of movement while still providing protection against impacts from balls or players. As a result, most leg guards employ a series of rigid padded plates which are strapped onto the leg. The use of the two materials, rigid plastic and soft, flexible padding, presents a trade-off between impact protection and freedom of movement. Unfortunately, to maintain freedom of movement of the knee, in conventional leg guards, neither the rigid plate nor the padded layer extend to cover the medial side of the leg, leaving much of the inner knee and thigh exposed to impact when the catcher is couching behind home plate.
Balancing the need for protection with the need to retain freedom of movement has led to changes in leg guard design. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,152 to Parker describes a shin guard having three panels, a front panel, a lateral side panel, and a medial side panel. Each panel includes a rigid plate backed by a cushioning material. A portion of the medial side material has been removed to allow the calf muscle to more freely expand and contract while running and cutting across the field. However, this shin guard is intended to be used by soccer players, so such a shin guard would not provide medial-side leg protection for a baseball catcher in a crouch position.
U.S. patent publication number 2003/0019006 to Godshaw et al. describes a knee pad which includes a rigid outer shell and an insert fitted inside the shell to protect and cushion a user's knee, such as while kneeling to install flooring. The insert is either asymmetric or strategically placed in the shell so as to accommodate either the left or right knee of the wearer. This construction is designed to provide maximum support and cushioning to the oppositely-shaped left and right knees. However, the shell of this construction is symmetrical, and no additional protection is provided for the medial-side of the leg.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a leg guard for a baseball or softball catcher which protects the catcher's leg, particularly a medial side portion of the knee, inner thigh and calf, while supporting the knee and allowing a catcher to freely maneuver from the couching to the blocking position or standing position.